LAS CRUCES - Raft the Rio is being resurrected after what initially was thought to be a permanent cancellation in 2015.

The event — which entails residents navigating home-made rafts down a stretch of the Rio Grande — is scheduled to take place June 25 in Las Cruces. It will be combined for the first time with a river festival, slated to take place the same day at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, 5000 Calle del Norte, Mesilla.

Raft the Rio is being revived thanks to local Kiwanis Club members, who decided to take over the work of hosting the event from its former organizer, the Las Cruces-based Southwest Environmental Center. The center announced in early 2015 it was dropping the event because of limited resources and because it felt it had accomplished its mission of influencing attitudes toward the Rio Grande in a positive way. There was no event last year.

Kiwanis Club members, who are hosting the event as volunteers, said their main aims are to add to the quality of life of the local community, continue highlighting the Rio Grande and possibly stir interest among the public in joining their clubs.

"The idea is to build a community event and get people to learn about the river and learn about Kiwanis," said Vince Gutschick, president of the Sun Country de Las Cruces Kiwanis Club.

John Northcutt, an event organizer and lieutenant governor for Division 7 of the Southwest District of Kiwanis, said club members are interested in promoting the community. Festivals are part of the area's success, and several have fallen by the wayside in recent years.

"We want to do this because we live here," he said. "It's a quality of life (issue)."

Members of three local Kiwanis Clubs have been meeting regularly to plan for the revived event. The fourth such organizational session was last week at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, drawing about a dozen people. In addition to Kiwanis members, the group is seeking volunteers from within the community to help host the rafting event and sponsors to cover its costs.

A key factor in Kiwanis Club members' decision to take on the raft contest was that the club has already has event insurance, something Southwest Environmental Center had to specially buy.

Entries sought

The last time Raft the Rio was held — in 2014 — there were about 60 participating vessels, including a yellow submarine with a full contingent of river-going Beatles, and a raft that was made with 643 empty cat food cans and 26 litter-container floats, according to Sun-News archives.

In past years, the event could draw hundreds of spectators, in addition to the participants.

So far, organizers said they've heard from some people who've expressed interest in entering rafts. But to officially enter, participants must submit an entry form. Kiwanis Clubs have a registration process underway. Through June 22, the cost is $15 for a raft with "up to two sailors."

The same-day registration cost is $25 per raft for up to two people. Each person beyond the second crew member will cost $5, according to the event registration form.

"We're hoping we'll hit 100," entries, Gutschick said.

Northcutt said Kiwanis Club members have gotten a strong response from people wanting to help revive Raft the Rio.

"People have been coming out of the woodwork saying: 'I want to do this,'" he said.

Organizers said they plan to continue the tradition started by Southwest Environmental Center of awarding prizes to float entries. They'll recruit a panel of judges to decide the winners.

Categories in the contest include first to finish, least likely to finish, most-spirited crew and best use of recycled materials. Teams can enter their floats into two categories. A prize will be awarded in each category.

Jim Pudlewski, a member of the Las Cruces Kiwanis Club, said the group is charging a fee to help recoup its costs.

"We're hoping to break even," he said.

Northcutt said the event isn't a fundraiser for the Kiwanis Clubs.

"This is what we call a service project," he said. "This is a major project. We're glad to do it."

Event date set

Sign-in for Raft the Rio will run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. June 25 at La Llorona Park at the Picacho Avenue bridge over the Rio Grande in Las Cruces. The launch will take place at 10 a.m. that day.

The river festival is scheduled to take place a couple of miles downstream at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. It runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. Organizers said they've already recruited some vendors and booth hosts, including a local brewery, and are hoping to find more. Food, informational and activity booths are among the possibilities. Organizers said they're seeking musicians who'd be willing to perform.

Forms and rules to enter the Raft the Rio event; to become a sponsor or advertiser; and to become a volunteer for the event can be obtained from Kiwanis Club member Jim Vorenberg at jdvberg@aol.com. For information, call 410-925-9126.

Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter.